Putting off on essential appointments, like your hearing aid fitting, is all too easy amidst the hustle and bustle of daily events. You may not even get around to shopping for hearing aids at all. However, delaying treatment for hearing loss is a lot more than just a mistake concerning your ears alone.
The connection to cognitive decline
Scientists have established a clear link between untreated hearing loss and cognitive decline. This underscores the critical importance of not delaying treatment, as it can have negative effects on your mental function also.
Hearing loss will worsen if it’s neglected
Obviously, it’s evident that putting off treatment for hearing loss isn’t conducive to preserving your auditory health. By avoiding appointments with a hearing specialist or holding off on the purchase of hearing aids, you inadvertently subject your ears to additional damage.
The progression of your hearing loss will be accelerated if you continuously need to crank up the volume on your devices. Hearing aids can amplify specific frequencies of sound thereby delaying the progression of hearing loss.
The link to cognitive function
Your brain and your hearing are intricately linked. Cognitive function can be severely impacted by neglected hearing loss according to some significant research. Social isolation, often a consequence of weakened hearing, can lead to mental health problems such as depression and anxiety, which in turn can exacerbate cognitive decline over time.
Furthermore, prolonged untreated hearing loss causes the brain to adapt by reallocating resources from auditory processing to other functions, such as visual processing, potentially complicating the restoration of healthy hearing function later on.
Navigating neuroplasticity
In this scenario, neuroplasticity, which is the brain’s ability to adapt, can be both a friend and a foe. The brain will have a difficult time reverting back to its previous state after it rewires itself to accommodate for sustained neglected hearing loss.
However, it’s not impossible to undo these effects. In both the short and the long term, utilizing hearing aids can bring considerable benefits even if you’ve held off on getting treatment for some time.
Set up an appointment with a hearing specialist
You should obviously seek treatment as soon as possible, but even if you’ve delayed for a while, it’s not too late to get help. If you’re ready to enjoy improved hearing and stronger mental function, call us today for an assessment!